Growing fears over the U.S.-China trade war triggered a massive sell-off across Asia-Pacific markets on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading losses at 4.19%—its worst single-day drop in 2025. The broader Topix index mirrored the selloff with a 3.98% decline, while South Korea’s Kospi posted more moderate losses at 0.92%.

The Asian selloff mirrored Wall Street’s brutal session, where the Nasdaq plunged 4.3%, the S&P 500 dropped 3.5%, and the Dow Jones nosedived 1,014 points (-2.5%). Investors fled risk assets after the White House confirmed a staggering 145% total tariff rate on Chinese goods, including a new 125% duty and an existing 20% fentanyl-related levy.

Key Drivers:

• Trump’s 90-Day Tariff Pause: Limited to non-China imports, failing to calm markets
• Tech Wreck: Nasdaq’s 4% drop mirrored in Asian semiconductor stocks
• Mixed Regional Performance: Hang Seng (+0.56%) and Taiex (+2%) bucked the trend